Tauren Engineering
employ Lifts to allow their people an efficient method of vertical transportation. Like many other Tauren inventions, it is powered both by conventional technology and elemental magic.]]While Tauren society is primarily driven by Shamanism and Druidism, it also makes extensive use of brilliant technology predating the time of the Alliance and Horde. Tauren engineering encompasses a wide array of inventions that have both military and non-military applications. Lifts Perhaps the foremost Tauren innovation is the Lift. It is not known when the first Lift was designed, but rudimentary prototypes were believed to have been constructed during a time pre-dating the Age of Magic. Dwarven archaeological digs suggest that, at one time, the Lift was driven entirely by a hand-cranked pulley. Modern Tauren Lifts make use of Elemental magic. As a Shamanic people, the Tauren make and maintain pacts with the Elements, performing detailed rituals to keep their relations with the primordial forces of Azeroth strong. Lifts are powered by strong updrift currents provided by Wind Elementals. They rise and fall at a lumbering rate, so as to ensure a comfortable and safe journey. The Lift grants the Tauren a unique strategic advantage against invading forces. Lifts may be activated or deactivated at will, essentially cutting off access to settlements by ground forces. Of course, this does not stop the enemy from invading from the air. In the event of an enemy raid that has taken control of the Lift, Tauren defenders may also knock them off of the Lift platform, sending dozens of foolhardy soldiers plummeting to an untimely death. Water Wells Water Well, pictured in Mulgore.]]Tauren Water Wells are remarkably advanced in their construction, especially considering that the modern design has remained unaltered for several thousand years. Water Wells are designed to accesss underground stores of potable water, such as those stored in reservoirs or subterranean caves, giving the Tauren access to these substantial sources of drinking water. Water Wells can be constructed quickly, and were an essential part of the Tauren peoples' way of life before a permanent settlement in Mulgore could be realized. Tauren were able to build a functional Water Well in as quickly as a week, which allowed them to provide enough water to their people to survive in the harsh climate of The Barrens for months at a time. The remains of several non-functional Water Wells can be seein the remains of nomadic Tauren settlements across Kalimdor, the majority of which were constructed on-the-run from marauding Centaur tribes. Such waterwells also took on a religious significance, with stones from the wells having great spiritual and magical applications. Gunpowder made use of firearms before their introduction to the Alliance. The Tauren constructed basic, inaccurate rifles that were uncommonly utilized as hunting weapons by the Night Elves.]]The Tauren were Kalimdor's first gunsmiths, constructing powder-based arms and inventions that preceded those of Dwarven make by several thousand years. The proximity and abundance of rich mineral deposits allowed the Tauren to enrich gunpowder from surrounding minerals at an early stage in their technological development. The Tauren are masters of pyrotechnic displays, rivaled only by the Pandaren, and the Tauren-inspired pyrotechnic arts of the Night Elven people. The first Tauren firearms were simple in construction, using a design similar to the Tauren totem, but hollowed out to allow for projectiles and powder to be placed inside. The totem gun launched several projectiles at once, usually a cluster of rocks, propelled by fuse-lit gunpowder at the back of the gun. Subsequent designs improved upon the original schematic, until the totem gun was abandoned entirely at the time of the Age of the Long Vigil. As the Tauren replaced their flint, stone, and wood weapons with steel and iron, muzzle-loaded guns constructed of iron began to emerge as a Tauren invention. The design provided inaccurate use at long range, with functiontal operating range at just under twenty yards. The Tauren gun was exported to the Kaldorei, and circulated amongst Kaldorei huntsmen in a limited quantity. It is not a widely-known fact that the Kaldorei were acquainted with firearms before the time of the Alliance, but the Tauren were actually the first people to introduce firearms to Kalimdor. Category:Engineering Category:Technology Category:Tauren